


Ides of March

by JustAnotherUnderstudy



Series: Stuff Only Tanner Knows [4]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Found works, Shakespeare Quotations, ides of March
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 02:52:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14761206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherUnderstudy/pseuds/JustAnotherUnderstudy
Summary: Bill Tanner was never superstitious, but today might be the day he starts. (Helpful to read at least one story of the series before this.)





	Ides of March

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know it's not the Ides of March, but I was just so excited to find this work that I cried, then had to post it. I wrote this for my holiday series...a year and a half ago. I had intended to publish it on the Ides of March in 2017, but when I was writing it up on AO3 it somehow deleted and then I couldn't find it on any of my devices. That is the reason I stopped writing the series. I was just so depressed about it. Anyway, I found it. Not sure if I'll work on the Easter one now. The series was leading up to a full, multi-chapter story and since I have three stories open right now, I'll probably just wait. Yeah, I think so. Aren't you glad I had this conversation with you? ;) I hope you all enjoy it, even though it is over a year late.

_"Beware the Ides of March." Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare_

* * *

 

Shakespeare's prophetic words rang in Tanner's mind as he looked at the date on his calendar. Maybe he should have scheduled this for a different date, at least it wouldn't have felt so ominous.  
  
The comm buzzed on his phone letting him know it was too late to do anything but face the music as they liked to say.  
  
He grabbed up his tablet and a file folder from his desk and carefully walked toward the elevator. In all his years as Chief of Staff for M, this was going to be the most difficult thing he'd ever done.  
  
When he exited the elevator at the lower level, he saw two people waiting in the hallway. They were two people he'd never thought he'd see again. John and Katherine, Olivia's children.  
  
He'd last seen them at the funeral, the one which he knew was actually unnecessary. Before that, he'd been the one to visit each of them after the decision had been made to declare her dead while James took her to hide from Silva.

Now, Silva was dead. His network had fallen apart quickly, as often happened in these cases. MI6 was still watching any known associates to see where they ended up, but for the most part, any vendetta against his former boss seemed out of the question now.  
  
Tanner ushered the pair into an interview room and had them sit. He hadn't sat himself before John was asking questions.  
  
"What's happened, Mr. Tanner? Have you captured the man who killed our mother?"  
  
Bill sat and looked between the two. While Katherine looked so much like Olivia and John like his father, their eyes were where you could see whom they had taken after. Katherine's eyes were wide and open, her feelings there for the world to see. John's eyes narrowed and showed caution, one couldn't be sure what the man was thinking, only that looking at him too long gave him the impression that John could see the truth for himself. It was unsettling in the same way it could be to look at Olivia.  
  
"Mr. Mansfield, we had issued a capture or kill order on the man and he was killed several months ago."  
  
"But if he's dead, why haven't you told us sooner?"  
  
Katherine's voice sounded like Olivia, if Olivia had ever allowed herself to show anyone her fear. The woman had likely been worried about her family and her brother's family.  
  
"And if he's dead, why haven't you removed the protection details from our families?"  
  
John's tone told Tanner that he didn't entirely trust his mother's former assistant.  
  
"We were trying to assess how much of a threat remained from the man's network and associates."  
  
"And now?"  
  
"While we feel that things are safe, we'd like to keep the detail on your families a bit longer."  
  
"But why?"  
  
Tanner sighed inwardly. He supposed that normal people didn't like to be followed around by anyone, even people who were protecting them. It probably just heightened their awareness of dangers they hadn't thought of before.  
  
"It's a special request."  
  
"From whom?"  
  
John's eyes narrowed and Tanner was glad he'd worked for years with Olivia and had learned to read her or he'd be even more nervous at this point.  
  
He tried to remind himself that this really was no worse or better than anything he'd ever been asked to do before. He really was unsure why he was so concerned. This should be happy news for them. Still...Bill shook the thoughts from his head and forced himself to continue.  
  
"From your mother."  
  
He forced the words out before he could reconsider a better way to broach the subject.  
  
Katherine's eyes were wide with surprise, while John's looked as if Tanner had only confirmed his worst suspicions.  
  
"Did she leave this order before her death?"  
  
Katherine's voice was shaky and John reached over and took her hand.  
  
"No, dear sister, I believe what Mr. Tanner is trying to tell us is that our mother has not been dead all this time."  
  
"What? No. That's impossible."  
  
"How is that, Katherine? Did we ever see the body?"  
  
"Her body was too..."  
  
Katherine's bottom lip began to shake and she bit it and cut off her sentence.  
  
"But it wasn't, was it?"  
  
John leveled a glare at him, the one his mother used that made 00's quake in their shoes.  
  
Tanner only shook his head.  
  
"We felt it best if it was believed she was dead so we would be able to go after the people who were after her."  
  
"Is she OK?"  
  
The worry in Katherine's voice lessened the tension that had been building between Bill and John.  
  
"She's fine."  
  
"Can we see her or speak with her?"  
  
Tanner steeled himself. He knew, of course, they'd want to see her or at least speak with her, but that wasn't possible just yet. A few other things weren't possible just yet either.  
  
"I'm afraid not yet. We are still working out the details for her return. And, I'm afraid you will also need to keep this between yourselves for now."  
  
That statement received the exact reaction he'd expected. John leveled a glare at him worthy of Olivia and Katherine gave him such a look of dismay that his heart nearly broke.  
  
"But my children. They lost their grandmother. They deserve to know..."  
  
Fortunately, John interceded.  
  
"Katherine."  
  
He squeezed his sister's hand and gave her a kind look before turning back to Tanner, and replacing his kind look with a much harder one.  
  
"How much more time, Mr. Tanner?"  
  
"At least a month."  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
Katherine sounded hopeful.  
  
"That's at least, it could be longer. The only reason we are letting you know about this is Olivia wanted the two of you to have time to accept it."  
  
"What's to accept? She's alive."  
  
Katherine sounded incredulous.  
  
"She might have expected there'd be some anger at not being told sooner," John gently explained to his sister.  
  
John was definitely the more practical one, Bill mused.  
  
"But that was to keep her and us safe so it hardly matters."  
  
Katherine was smiling through her tears now and it was a relief to Bill, and apparently to John as well who gave her a smile as well.  
  
"Is that all, Mr. Tanner?"  
  
John looked at him, all business again.  
  
"For now. I will contact you when we have made arrangements for you to see her."  
  
John stood first and tugged at Katherine who followed. At the door, Katherine took Bill's hand in her other.  
  
"Thank you for keeping her safe, Mr. Tanner."  
  
"It was a group effort, ma'am."  
  
She smiled up at him and followed her brother out.  
  
Bill watched as they were escorted to the elevator by a guard who would also see them out of the building.  
  
As he turned to take the lift that would lead him back to his floor, he thought he could have at least alluded to Olivia's relationship with James. But he shook his head. Tanner wasn't a cowardly man but there were limits to what even he wanted to face.


End file.
